The Translocality of Home in Mohja Kahf's Diasporic Discourse

The concept of home is pivotal in diaspora studies. Mohja Kahf (1967- ), the Syrian Muslim novelist residing in the United States, challenges the fixity of home in her diasporic novel, The Girl in Tangerine Scarf (2006). The efforts of her heroine, Khadra, to find home in the fixed geographical territories, such as Syria, United States, Saudi Arabia, and Kuwait, are futile. She finds out that as a diasporic subject, instead of trying to satisfy her desire for home, she has to please her homing desire. Taking part in the community of Muslim religious rituals such as Haj pilgrimage and congregational prayer enables her to create a translocal space for herself. This space is engendered round the pivotal point of religious belief and the plurality and multiplicity of transnational Islamic community. The present study regards translocality as a solution to the challenge of home in diaspora. James Clifford, Avtar Brah, Katherine Brickell and Ayona Datta, and Tim Oakes and Louisa Schein are among the main theoretician of this research.